OpenAI And Meta Adjusting Features For Teens
OpenAI and Meta will adjust their chatbot features to better respond to teens in crisis. According to an OpenAI blog post, the tech company “recently introduced a real-time router that can choose between efficient chat models and reasoning models based on the conversation context.” The new measures come after a 16-year-old in California died by suicide after conversing with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The teenager’s parents are now calling for OpenAI’s CEO to “unequivocally say that he believes ChatGPT is safe or immediately pull it from the market.”
“We recently introduced a real-time router that can choose between efficient chat models and reasoning models based on the conversation context,” OpenAI wrote in a Tuesday blog post. We’ll soon begin to route some sensitive conversations — like when our system detects signs of acute distress — to a reasoning model, like GPT‑5-thinking, so it can provide more helpful and beneficial responses, regardless of which model a person first selected,” the company added.
Earlier this year OpenAI formed the Expert Council on Well-Being and AI and our Global Physician Network to promote healthy interaction with large language models and said 250 physicians from across 60 countries have shared their input on current performance functions, the release noted.
Meta spokesperson Stephanie Otway said. it would update its policies to reflect more appropriate engagement with teens following a series of issues. The company said it would no longer allow teenage users to discuss self-harm, suicide, disordered eating, or potentially inappropriate romantic conversations with chatbots.
“As our community grows and technology evolves, we’re continually learning about how young people may interact with these tools and strengthening our protections accordingly,” These updates are already in progress, and we will continue to adapt our approach to help ensure teens have safe, age-appropriate experiences with AI.”
